From the Really Crappy Ways to Die file:

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Indonesian villagers are hunting a giant python that killed a 13-year-old boy a week ago on Sumatra island.

Police Chief Capt. Joshua Tampubolon said Monday that the 23-feet-long (7-meter-long) python was believed to be hiding in waterway tunnels built by a textile company for its industrial waste.

The rest is here.

I filled feeders and searched for tracks today in preparation for Thursday’s Kansas archery turkey opener. I have a busy work load this week so I won’t get a chance to hunt until Friday evening or Saturday. I also spent a few minutes looking for sheds in a swampy area that I don’t know much about. I nearly stumbled on this guy:

Then I backed up to admire his camouflage job:

The water was cool enough that he was still pretty sluggish but I stayed away from those jaws.

So for the second night in a row I’m blogging from a balcony overlooking busy downtown Charleston with a glass of wine. For the second night in a row the live band across the street is singing an unbearably long version of “Dixie” where the crowd cheers wildly each time they think they have reached the end… only to find another chorus. Strangely, it’s the only thing in Charleston that’s not entirely classy.

Today we toured houses older than our country, investigated cannons and mortars for rifling and carriage quality, and shopped. The highlight of the day was a fantastic woman who deals in Persian rugs. The wife and I had spent some time looking over quality rugs several years back in Thailand so when I spotted the shop I thought it would be fun to take a peek. The charming owner was having a slow afternoon so she spent the next two hours teaching us while working through piles of rugs. I learned to spot a rug from the Caucus Mountains, a tribal, a Tabriz, or a floral, among others. We learned about vegetable dyes (pre-1920) and modern dyes, fading rugs more than 200 years old, and modern silk/wool mixes. Most of her rugs were Persian (or Iranian) and most were 60-90 years old. I was fascinated by the history and study of it all while my wife was focusing on the interior decorating part. We discussed flying back to pick out a rug or two when we buy our next place. For anyone in the Charleston area, I would absolutely stop by Khoury Oriental Rugs and talk with Dolly, even if you don’t want or need a rug.

This evening was spent gorging ourselves on local seafood. Here’s a tip: If the place has a bucket in the middle of the table, you’re in the right place! Now I’m drinking red wine in the vain hope that it keeps my arteries open until my cholesterol comes back down to earth.

I have enjoyed Charleston a great deal. I am by no means an expert on the Atlantic coast Confederacy, but I have visited Savannah, Georgia not far to the south. I’ve also visited Northern Virginia twice on day trips. The difference here is surprisingly stark. The character of the town is very much intact, rather than, say, Savannah, which struck me more as a tourist version of the south. The architecture is similar, the history is similar, but Charleston just seems so much more genuine. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a long weekend getaway.

Well, I was going to show you a picture of me drinking wine on the balcony overlooking historic Charleston, South Carolina, but I forgot my USB cable. So I’ll tell you that I’m enjoying the Old South and spent a good part of the day learning about the history of the area. Today we loaded up the stroller and hit Fort Sumter. I’ve enjoyed it a great deal but without pictures it isn’t that much fun. Maybe I’ll post a greatest hits edition when I get home.

Well, since I told you about this story yesterday I thought I’d tell you that Mr. Lewton was acquitted today of the felony charges. I’m not surprised from the outside looking in but it is always difficult to make judgments about cases you haven’t seen or heard. Here’s the Montana Standard article.

RED WING, Minn. (AP) A Cannon Falls man accused of poaching a world-record eight-point buck has pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced to 245 days in jail.

Troy Alan Reinke had claimed he found the buck already dead when he was hunting in the Cannon Falls area last Halloween night. But the 33-year-old had already taken two deer, the legal limit in the area.

The deer had the highest-scoring eight-point antlers ever measured by several methods.

Reinke got credit for 120 days already served in jail on a separate matter. He also must pay $1,500 in restitution and $583 in fines, forfeit his bow and the deer’s rack, and give up the right to hunt large and small game for five years.

Here

And the more interesting story is that of John Lewton. Apparently the Montana Fish and Wildlife people got a tip that this taxidermist and video maker was illegally guiding sheep hunters. So they sent one of their agents under cover with an extremely coveted tag for the Missouri Breaks region, one of twenty opportunities such tags made available in all of 2009. The undercover agent arranged to hunt with Mr. Lewton and eventually killed a 204″ monster. Apparently up to that point the state had only gathered evidence of a handful of misdemeanors and many Montana hunters are wondering why such a wonderful animal had to be killed for a relatively minor crime. Some months later the agent did further the crime by agreeing to sell the ram to Mr. Lewton, making an illegal sale of wildlife which is a minor felony. It seems like an entrapment defense to me, but I haven’t seen the evidence or watched the trial. Not surprisingly, the defense made an issue of the unnecessary killing of the ram. As of today the case went to jury, so stay tuned for a result. If you want to read more you can follow the coverage at the Montana Standard.

The Kansas general turkey season is still several weeks away, starting April 14th. The archery season will open April 1st and continue until the general season starts. So what’s the rush? Well, if you buy your tags before April 1st you can buy both tags for $27.50 (Resident) or $47.50 (Non-Resident) which saves you a nice little bit of cash. You can buy them online here. Remember that you need to have a valid hunting license too!

We are seeing more turkeys as the weather warms up. My friends from Arkansas sent me this one wondering if I thought it was double bearded.

And these:

I mentioned a while back that I thought Safari Club International was a good organization to join, even if they were the only national supporter of the tame animal killing business. For me the national and international support of hunting outweighs the pseudo-legitimacy they provide to pseudo-hunting. And, on a side note, I heard recently that they discourage short term guaranteed hunts believing that they are not in the spirit of “Fair Chase”. I know, amazing!

Anyway, today I got a $50.00 Cabela’s gift certificate in the mail for signing up a new member. It seems like an obvious decision to me. You pay $55 for the membership and get nearly all of that back in the form of credit to a place any real outdoorsman will use. The new member then also gets a very nice magazine featuring great stories from all over the planet, plus the newsletter and invitations to local events. I’m sure there are other smaller things I’m overlooking. The real benefit is that your money is supporting hunting, a goal we should have.

Click here to sign someone up.
Click here to sign yourself up.

Photo From KC Star

33-2. 33-2 you ask? What is that? Are you giving pre-season wins to the Jayhawks or something? Nope, I’m telling you what the Jayhawks record is against that “rival” KSU since the founding of the Big 12. Think about that for a minute. 33-2. Seriously. Kansas State has beaten a team they ridiculously declare a “rival” twice, in the history of the league! K-State is falling all over themselves to fellatiate a coach with a winning percentage roughly equal to KU’s all time record. Again, think about that for a minute. Over more than 100 years KU has averaged what Frank Martin has done. Actually that’s being generous; Frank has won about 69% while KU has won 72%. Lets quit comparing numbers, it’s brutal.

But here’s the thing: If you were to ask any individual KSU fan about the historical slaughter they would claim, with a straight face, that KSU deserved to win every single one of those games! It’s like they live on a different planet where basketball is watched through an ignorance inducing purple prism. After each one of those losses, if by one point or 40, the angry, insecure, white, uneducated farm legions have risen up in protest.

“Can’t blame the cats. Tough to play 8-5.”
“Horrible out of bounds call by the officials. Looks like they finally remembered they’re supposed to help KU out.”
“Guess 5 steps isn’t a walk when it’s Sherron.”
“What foul?” (reference to the game saving strip at the end of regulation in Manhattan)

I’ve taken those 4 quotes directly from the Twitter feed of one of my good friends. In fact, he was the gentleman I had in mind a few weeks ago when I wrote that I knew there was at least one intelligent KSU fan. I can’t tell you why he went there, he’s not a farmer, but I will vouch for his intellect. But those quotes have come over the course of 3 games. One can make the assumption that he believes KU deserved to win none of the games. The point is, even the smartest K-State fan is helpless to do anything but complain. He wrote a post after KSU beat Nebraska explaining how KSU deserved a large foul shot discrepancy, but rest assured that exact theory could never be applied against the ‘Cats. As best I can tell it’s impossible for a correct call to ever go against the purple. If this is what the smartest 1% of KSU fans thinks, what can you expect from the rest? Take a look for yourself. Honestly, it’s sad. Uneducated Kansas State educated, and sad.

Never mind that K-State has one player good enough to start at KU. Never mind that K-State lost all 3 games this year, two somewhat handily, (and we all know how hard it is to beat a team three times in one year). Never mind that in Manhattan the term “coaching” apparently means screaming at your players and waving your arms. Rest assured that if KU won 99 games in a row, with an average scoring margin of 80, the entire wildcat fan base would be talking about how the refs have it out for them.

So again, here’s my advice (I like to help). Declare your rival to be Iowa State. That’s a more natural fit. ISU sucks too. I don’t think they have a rival. ISU is a second priority land grant school in a predominately AG based state. They probably have similarly homely women and too many dudes. You already have that “Farmageddon” thing going…

I think the Wildcats have a nice team (I sure don’t want to see them a fourth time). I think Frank Martin is a good coach. I wonder if he may be too good to stay in that Western Kansas hell hole, but you can enjoy him while he’s there. Get excited when that other farm team comes to town. Play “Let’s find the minority in the stands”. Celebrate ridiculous facial hair and make up stupid names for your arena. Sign off with ignorant chauvinistic acronyms. Claim you have tradition. Cite the facial hair, arena names, and acronyms as tradition even if they seem amateurish and unsupportive of your claim. Enjoy it. When ISU beats you, give them credit, but continue to hate them. But for god’s sake, please quit comparing yourself to KU. You don’t measure up. It makes you look terrible both on the court, and off.